Improve Strength, Mobility and Balance With Bulgarian Split Squats

In the game of strength training, single-leg exercises like Bulgarian split squats tend to take a back seat to standard leg-builders like squats and deadlifts. Big mistake. Incorporating Bulgarian split squats into your routine delivers serious benefits.

• ‌What are Bulgarian split squats?‌ Also known as "rear foot elevated split squats," the Bulgarian split squat involves lunging in place while resting the top of your back foot on an elevated surface.
• ‌What's the difference between Bulgarian split squats and lunges?‌ At first glance, the Bulgarian split squat may resemble a lunge, but there are a couple of key differences: First, your rear foot is elevated. Second, both feet stay put. These differences contribute to some of the unique benefits of Bulgarian split squats, such as their ability to build balance and stability and increase hip mobility.
• ‌What muscles do Bulgarian split squats work?‌ Bulgarian split squats target the glutes and the muscles of the legs, specifically the quads in the fronts of your thighs. Your hamstrings and calves are involved as well. And because this exercise challenges your balance, your core also engages to help keep you stable, says Megan Kaye, MS, CSCS, fitness director at Fredericksburg Fitness Studio.
• ‌What are the benefits of Bulgarian split squats?‌ Adding Bulgarian split squats into your routine can help you fix muscle imbalances, improve balance and stability, strengthen several major muscle groups and increase hip mobility, says James de Lacey, MS, a strength and conditioning coach in Auckland, New Zealand.

"We all have a dominant leg," de Lacey tells LIVESTRONG.com, and many of us unwittingly let our dominant leg take over for our weaker leg during everyday activities and bilateral (two-legged) exercises.

When this happens, the strength gap between your two sides can get wider over time. Single-leg exercises like the Bulgarian split squat enable you to work on one leg at a time, which can help close this gap.

Fixing strength imbalances is beneficial for everyone, says Ryan Daly, CPT, a head sports performance coach at Project TRNSFRM. Strength imbalances can contribute to faulty form when exercising and poor posture the rest of the time.

"Both of these things are common causes of injury, such as muscle strains and tendinitis," Daly tells LIVESTRONG.com.

Single-leg exercises like the Bulgarian split squat are essential for building balance and stability. If you only do two-legged exercises, your ability to balance on one leg can diminish quickly, de Lacey says.

Since single-leg balance and stability play a key role in many sports and everyday tasks, incorporating Bulgarian split squats into your routine may help you perform these activities with greater ease.

One sneaky perk of the Bulgarian split squat is that it increases hip mobility. "You'll find that the leg placed on the bench gets an immense stretch through the hips and quadriceps muscle," de Lacey says.

As you bend your knee, the main muscle being stretched is the rectus femoris (one of the four quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh). This muscle crosses the hip and knee joints and is responsible for hip flexion (lifting the knee or bending over) and knee extension (straightening the knee), de Lacey says.

Given that many of us deal with tight hips from sitting for long periods of time, any exercise that gets our hips stretched and moving can go a long way toward easing tightness.

The Bulgarian split squat is a compound exercise, which means it works multiple muscles at the same time. When you perform Bulgarian split squats, you'll hit the quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core.

"This helps you save time when working out, burn more calories and prevent overworking any single muscle group," Daly says.

While Bulgarian split squats primarily work your legs, they also challenge your core muscles. As you squat down, your core muscles contract to help you stay balanced and stable on a single leg, Daly explains. The result? A stronger midsection.

"Through experience, I've found this to be the most comfortable foot position," de Lacey says.

The alternative is to flex your foot to place your toes on the bench behind you. However, if you don't have good toe or hip mobility, you'll probably find this position uncomfortable — or even painful, de Lacey says. Tucking your toes can also cause you to accidentally rotate your hip, throwing off your form and taking some of the focus away from the glutes.

Many people make the mistake of leaning forward onto the ball of their front foot, but you'll find more stability by pushing through your full foot, de Lacey says. Try to keep your weight centered on your lead foot. Doing so can reduce your odds of knee pain from the exercise, de Lacey says.

The benches you'll find at gyms and fitness studios tend to be the ideal height for Bulgarian split squats.

"Lower benches or boxes can work but may restrict your movement if your knee hits the floor," de Lacey says. Opt for a soft bench or use a towel to cushion your ankle. If you're doing the move at home, try a sofa or ottoman — stick to the edges to avoid having your foot sink in ‌too‌ much.

Make sure your front knee doesn't fall in or out, Kaye says. Focus on keeping your knee in line with your ankle. This will help prevent knee pain.

Aim to keep your front shin and rear quad vertical throughout the exercise.

"While there is a place for the knee to track forward over the toes, the Bulgarian split squat is best performed with the front shin vertical or close to it," de Lacey says. "This allows you to take advantage of the large glute muscles and reduce the stress on the knees."

As far as your rear leg is concerned, keeping that quad vertical will enable you to achieve a deeper range of motion. "If you move too far forward or backward as you descend, you'll struggle to get deep and it will feel awkward," de Lacey says. Tweak your position accordingly if you feel an uncomfortable pull in your back quad or hip as you do the move.

Try these three Bulgarian split squat variations progress the move and make it more challenging.

Once you've mastered the body-weight Bulgarian split squat, the best way to take things to the next level is to add a dumbbell or two. "This is where I would recommend all beginners to start when loading the Bulgarian split squat," de Lacey says.

You can either hold one or two dumbbells down by your sides or in a racked position in front of your shoulders. Pick whichever option feels most comfortable.

"The barbell is the king when it comes to loading exercises heavy," de Lacey says. Use a barbell if you've nailed the dumbbell Bulgarian split squat variation and you're looking to build maximal strength.

The only downside: The positioning of the barbell behind your back may make it harder to maintain your balance, so don't try this variation if you still struggle to balance with the body weight or dumbbell Bulgarian split squat.

Performing the Bulgarian split squat from a deficit (i.e., with your front foot elevated) forces your muscles to move through a larger range of motion.

"This large range of motion means your muscles need to perform more work with greater time under tension, which leads to more muscle growth," de Lacey says. You'll feel a big stretch under your glutes in the front leg and the hip flexor and quadriceps in your back leg.